Alrosa Lowers Full-Year Sales Outlook

RAPAPORT... Alrosa has reduced its full-year sales outlook amid weaker
demand for small stones in the second half, the miner said Thursday.

The company expects to sell 37 million to 38 million carats
this year, down from the 39 million to 40 million carats it forecast in June.

The miner has seen a shift to higher-value diamonds this
year as the smaller categories performed less positively. Revenue grew 20% year
on year to RUB 68.58 billion ($1.04 billion) in the third quarter, as a 35%
jump in the average price to $155 per carat outweighed an 11% decline in sales
volume to 6.7 million carats. Net profit surged 87% to RUB 24.23 billion
($365.9 million) due to stronger diamond prices and lower costs.

“Our strong financial performance was driven by the recovery
in demand for end products and higher prices, coupled with our efforts to
improve margins through a more aggressive sales policy,” said Alrosa CEO Sergey
Ivanov.

Alrosa expects production to decline 8% to 36.6 million
carats for the year, compared with 39.6 carats last year. The decrease was due
to the closing of the Mir underground mine in August 2017 after a flood killed
eight employees. Group production will increase to 38 million carats next year,
the miner predicted.

The miner’s new Verkhne-Munskoye asset in Yakutia, which began
commercial production last month, will provide an estimated 1.8 million carats
per year, partially offsetting the lost volume from Mir. Yesterday, the company
reported it had recovered a 51.49-carat gem-quality stone from the new asset.

Image: The 51.49-carat diamond found at the Verkhne-Munskoe mine. (Alrosa)